With another week of strong winds and rough seas, determined anglers fishing the waters around Anna Maria Island must use their know-how to find sheltered areas to fish.
Finding the shelters is easy. The hard part is finding the areas that also hold fish.
Targeting snook and redfish on shallow flats adjacent to mangrove shorelines is working well.
Deeper flats, in areas where the waters are clear and not stirred up by the wind, are holding good numbers of spotted seatrout. You may also encounter Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle and ladyfish, which add balance to the bite.
On days when the winds are from the east, venturing into the Gulf of Mexico is feasible. Fishing within a mile of shore is resulting in catches of Spanish mackerel and ladyfish, as well as cobia.
On days when the winds are light and seas are calm, offshore fishers are venturing to depths of 100 feet, where they are finding red grouper, as well as mangrove and yellowtail snapper.
Migratory species — blackfin tuna and kingfish — are being caught in areas where reefs and wrecks are present.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m hiding from the wind along mangrove shorelines in Tampa Bay and its adjacent waters. Spotted seatrout action remains quite good. Limits and then some are attainable during my morning fishing trips. Mixed in are large Spanish mackerel, as well as jack crevalle and ladyfish.
Snook fishing is going well. Many snook being caught are measuring 20-26 inches, as well as a few slot-size snook here and there.
Capt. David White is venturing into the offshore waters in the Gulf of Mexico on days when the winds and waves are minimal. While offshore, White is finding plenty of action bottom fishing with live baits such as pinfish or shiners. Both baits are working to target red grouper, as many of these larger bottom dwellers are being reeled up from the depths.
Mangrove and yellowtail snapper are reacting to live shiners combined with a bottom rig. Free-lining shiners on the surface is producing action, especially for blackfin tuna and kingfish.
On windier days, White is fishing the shallow flats of Tampa Bay. Live shiners free-lined near mangroves is yielding snook and redfish.
Capt. Warren Girle is finding lots of action on snook and redfish while working the grass flats of Tampa and Sarasota bays. Casting free-lined shiners against mangrove shorelines is working well. Areas where oyster bars are present are prime areas where Girle is finding action.
Fishing deeper grass flats in open water is proving to be good for a variety of species. Spotted seatrout are being caught, as well as a mix of Spanish mackerel, ladyfish and jack crevalle.
Moving into the Gulf of Mexico, Girle is patrolling the waters within a mile of shore. In these areas, Girle is spotting an occasional cobia, and instructs clients to sight cast.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier says although it’s quite late in the year for sheepshead, he’s seeing some being caught daily by pier fishers using live shrimp as bait. Most of the sheepies are on the small side, although determined anglers are catching some keepers.
Other action occurring when using live shrimp as bait include some under-sized snook and over-sized redfish. Most snook catches are falling in the 20- to 24-inch range — shy of the minimum size of 28 inches. As for the reds, fish in the 30-inch class are being caught which exceeds the top end of the slot of 27 inches.
Lastly, casting small, White jigs is yielding Spanish mackerel.
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